Bihar Caste Census: The Nitish government has suffered another major setback regarding the caste census in Bihar. The Patna High Court on Tuesday refused an early hearing on the caste census. Rejecting the application for early hearing, the court said that the hearing would be held on the earlier date i.e. July 3. The court said that till then the ban on census will remain in force. Significantly, a petition was filed by the Bihar government in the Patna High Court demanding an early hearing of the case.
Earlier, the High Court had fixed the date of hearing on May 9, accepting the Interlocutory Application (IA) filed by the Bihar government. The government said that caste census and economic survey should be completed in the state as soon as possible. Now today, while hearing on the interlocutory application, the court has dismissed the petition. Along with this, the court said that now the next hearing in this matter will be held on July 3. Let us tell you that the Patna High Court had issued an interim order on May 4, banning the caste-based census in Bihar.
Argument of Bihar government regarding caste census
Last year, the Bihar government had decided to conduct caste census in the state. During the hearing in the court, Advocate General PK Shahi said that the survey is being conducted to plan public welfare and improve the social level. He said that after the resolution was passed by the Bihar Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council, it was decided to conduct the caste census. This is a policy decision of the state government and budget provision has been made for it. This census will make it easier for the government to formulate policies for the welfare of the poor. The census work which started in Bihar from January 7 was to end by May 15. The Bihar government had said before the High Court that the work of caste census has been completed up to 80 percent.
Arguments of petitioner regarding caste census in Bihar
The petitioners in the case have argued that the Bihar government does not have the right to count castes. By doing this, the government is violating the constitution. This power rests only with the Centre. It has been said in the petition that in the caste-based census, not only the caste of the people but also their occupation and qualification is being recorded, which is a violation of their right to privacy. It has been said in the petition that the state government does not have the constitutional right to conduct caste census. Moreover, the expenditure of Rs 500 crore on this census is a waste of taxpayers’ money.
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